More Pizza for DFW

Blaze Pizza hopes to fire up Dallas casual dining scene with build-your-own pies

Blaze Pizza, a player in the build-your-own-pizza category, is coming to Dallas.

Courtesy photo

Hope you like pizza. Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza, a player in the booming, build-your-own pizza category, has signed a development agreement to launch in Dallas. The franchising group is Saddles Blazin, an affiliate of Paradigm Investment Group led by Don Wollan, Brian Kelley and Greg Hazard. They already own 105 Hardee’s, TGI Fridays and Jersey Mike’s Subs franchises.

Being such a corporate entity, they remain tight-lipped on the specifics of their development in Dallas. "As of now, we are not able to provide definite opening dates or locations for the restaurants," says spokeswoman Samantha Tyson.

Blaze is part of the very hot trend of faster-than-fast-food pizza with gourmet ambitions. Players include Pie Five; Uncle Maddio's; Live Basil Pizza; The Pizza Studio; Tulsa-based Top That! Pizza; and the Los Angeles-based pacesetter, 800 Degrees Pizza. There's even a locally grown entry called Pizza Snob that opened in January 2014 near TCU in Fort Worth.

Blaze enters the market on the heels of Project Pie, which is moving into Dallas this summer. These pizzerias use an assembly-line format inspired by Chipotle, with bins of toppings that customers can choose from to make their own custom pizza. It goes into a blazing hot open-flame oven and bakes for less than 180 seconds.

Blaze's standard pizza is 11 inches and costs $8. They have a "pizza whisperer" – executive chef Brad Kent, who devised the dough, which requires a 24-hour fermentation.

The menu also features salads, fresh lemonade, craft beer and wine, and house-made s’more pies. Blaze also offers gluten-free dough and vegan cheese.

The chain was founded in 2011 by Elise and Rick Wetzel, co-founder of Wetzel’s Pretzels, and boasts some celebrity investors, including LeBron James, Maria Shriver, Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner and movie producer John Davis. Blaze Pizza currently operates restaurants in Southern California, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Milwaukee.

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Pie News

White Rhino Coffee acquires Dallas bakery chain Emporium Pies

Photo courtesy of Emporium Pies

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A Dallas pie company has a new boss: Emporium Pies, a small chain of pie shops founded in 2012, has been acquired by White Rhino Coffee, the Dallas-born coffee company known for its community-driven cafés and craft-focused approach.

Emporium Pie owners and sisters Landon Perdue, Jen Abohosh, and Addie Roberts say in a release that the transition reflects a natural alignment in values.

"Part of our shared mission is hospitality and giving people a reason to celebrate," Roberts says. "We love the team, who I’ll continue working alongside, and I’m excited for this next chapter together. There’s something about dessert that brings people joy in a way nothing else can, and we’re thrilled to see that legacy carried forward."

Emporium began as a small operation selling pies from a 1930s bungalow in Bishop Arts. A second location opened in McKinney in 2013, followed by Deep Ellum which opened in 2016, and Fort Worth which opened in 2021, for a total of four shops. This is the second time the chain has changed hands; the original founders sold the company in 2022.

White Rhino was founded in 2007 and currently has 12 locations, the most recent being a location at Cypress Waters, inside a conference room, which opened in 2025.

“Emporium Pies has built an extraordinary legacy,” said Sara Escamilla, CEO of White Rhino Coffee. “Their products are consistently excellent, impeccably crafted, and beloved. Every pie is made with the highest quality ingredients. To be able to support and grow a concept of this caliber is an honor.”

The bakers and Addie Roberts will remain on staff, ensuring that the recipes remain unchanged. While the businesses will operate as usual for now, White Rhino Coffee plans to explore expanding Emporium Pies’ footprint across the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

They'll also introduce collaborations and menu integrations such as signature pie-and-coffee pairings.

“For now, it simply means coffee and pie - two of life’s best comforts - can be enjoyed across both brands,” Escamilla says.

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